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Newly Freed DeChristopher Speaks at Movie Screening

www.bidder70.org

Climate activist Tim DeChristopher made his first public appearance last night since being released from federal custody on Sunday. He was sentenced in 2011 to two years in federal prison for derailing a 2008 Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease auction. DeChristopher joined hundreds of his supporters at the Tower Theater in Salt Lake City for a screening of the documentary Bidder 70, which details his act of civil disobedience and his conviction. 

Following the screening of Bidder 70, DeChristopher took questions from the audience. Most of whom wanted to know how to move forward with an anti-fossil-fuel agenda in the wake of his publicized arrest and lengthy trial.

“If anybody's got any ideas?" DeChristopher told the audience.

DeChristopher said after being in isolation, he's not sure what his next step will be in terms of environmental activism.

“My course of action at this time is just to try to plug back into the movement and see where I can be helpful and see where I can support folks," He said.

DeChristopher was released from federal prison and transferred to a Salt Lake City halfway house in October. Although he is free from federal custody he still has some legal limitations. His three-year probation requires him to check in with a parole officer and notify authorities when he travels.

DeChristopher plans to enroll in Harvard Divinity School to become a Unitarian minister.  

Whittney Evans grew up southern Ohio and has worked in public radio since 2005. She has a communications degree from Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky, where she learned the ropes of reporting, producing and hosting. Whittney moved to Utah in 2009 where she became a reporter, producer and morning host at KCPW. Her reporting ranges from the hyper-local issues affecting Salt Lake City residents, to state-wide issues of national interest. Outside of work, she enjoys playing the guitar and getting to know the breathtaking landscape of the Mountain West.
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